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Veterinary Parasitology 171 (2010) 163–166

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Veterinary Parasitology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/vetpar

Short communication

Prevalence of endoparasites in household cat (Felis catus) populations from Transylvania (Romania) and association with risk factors
Viorica Mircean, Adriana Titilincu ∗ , Cozma Vasile
University ofAgricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine, Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases Department, 3-5 M˘ n˘ stur Street, Cod 400372, Cluj Napoca, Romania a a¸

a r t i c l e

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a b s t r a c t
There is no current information regarding the prevalence of parasites in Romanian cats. Consequently, we conducted a study to evaluate the prevalence of endoparasites in a sample of household cats in theTransylvania region, to point out the risk factors for parasite infection and to evaluate the knowledge of cat owners about the zoonotic potential of some parasites. Four hundred fourteen faecal samples were collected and examined by sodium chloride flotation followed by microscopy. Also, questionnaires were administered to cat owners (196). The overall prevalence of endoparasites in household catswas 34.3% (142/414; CI 29.8–39.1). Concurrent infections with two or more parasites were recorded in 17.6% cats. The detected parasites were Toxocara cati (20.3%), Ancylostoma spp. (10.1%), Isospora rivolta (8.9%), Isospora felis (5.3%), Aelurostrongylus abstrusus (5.6%), Strongyloides spp. (3.4%), Capillaria aerophila (3.1%), Taenia taeniaeformis (2.7%), T. gondii/H. hammondi (1.2%), Sarcocystisspp. (1%), Giardia duodenalis (0.7%) and Dypillidium caninum (0.2%). Risk factors for infection with parasites in cats were identified to be age and medium (rural or urban area). Thus, I. felis, I. rivolta and T. cati were more common in cats less than/equal to 1-year old, and Ancylostoma spp. and A. abstrusus were more prevalent in cats older than 1-year of age. 72.4% of the owners appliedanthelmintic treatments to their cats, more commonly in urban areas (87.3%) (4 treatments/year) than in rural areas (12.7%) (1 treatment/year). 66.3% of the owners knew about the zoonotic potential of some parasites from cats, and the main source of information was veterinarians (65.4%). In conclusion the prevalence of endoparasites in household cats from Transylvania is high. Consequently,consideration should be given to the use of anthelmintics and to pet owner education. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 16 September 2009 Received in revised form 1 March 2010 Accepted 4 March 2010 Keywords: Endoparasites Household cats Protozoa Helminths Zoonosis Romania

1. Introduction Gastrointestinal parasitism is one of the main causes of morbidity in domestic dogsand cats (Hendrix and Blagburn, 1983). Among feline intestinal parasites, Toxoplasma gondii, Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium spp., Sarcocystis spp., Echinococcus multilocularis, Toxocara cati,

∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +40 264 596 384x165; fax: +40 264 593 792. E-mail addresses: mirceanviorica@yahoo.com, titilincua@yahoo.com (A. Titilincu). 0304-4017/$ – see front matter © 2010Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2010.03.005

Ancylostoma spp. and Strongyloides spp. have zoonotic potential. The prevalence of intestinal parasites can vary due to geographical region, presence and frequency of veterinary care, season of the year and the type of population of cat (stray, feral, shelter, household). In Romania, little information on the prevalence ofendoparasites in cats is available. Most of them are data obtained during efficacy evaluation of some anthelmintic products (Suteu et al., 1993). The aim of our study was to ¸ determine the prevalence of endoparasites in household cats from Transylvania according with age, gender, habitat and medium. Also, anthelmintic treatments provided

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